Many tax-funded animal shelters still use carbon monoxide gas chambers to kill unwanted cats and dogs. This method is considered by many to be outdated and inhumane and guess what?! Your taxes are funding it!

Animals in a gas chamber do not die quickly or painlessly. They struggle for breath. They claw to get out. They attack/bite each other in their confusion and panic. This is not a pretty site and will stay with you for a very long time. When animals inhale carbon monoxide, they can suffer convulsions, vomiting, angina, and muscular spasms. Some will not die the first time. IF it MUST be done, there is a better, more humane way — euthanasia by injection. This method is cost effective and takes only seconds.

****PLEASE NOTE – SAVING FURRY FRIENDS IS A NO-KILL RESCUE. OUR ANIMALS STAY HERE UNTIL THEY ARE ADOPTED BE IT 6 DAYS/6 WEEKS/6 MONTHS/6 YRS. WE DO NOT SUPPORT/ENDORSE EUTHANASIA HOWEVER IF CITY/COUNTY SHELTERS HAVE TO DO THIS AT LEAST DO IT HUMANELY. THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS IN REGARD TO CITY/COUNTY SHELTERS*****

The Humane Society of the United States, American Humane, American Veterinary Medical Association, National Animal Control Association, the American Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights all advocate lethal injection of sodium pentobarbitol. It is considered the most humane, safest, and least stressful choice for euthanasia.

The Killing With Kindness Campaign demands one U.S. federal law: That all animal species housed in any shelter/pound/animal control facility shall be euthanized, only when necessary, by a veterinarian or trained, certified euthanasia technician, and that the animal shall first be sedated/tranquilized (when advisable) before being administered a lethal intravenous injection of sodium Phenobarbital.

The idea for a federal law for the humane euthanasia of shelter animals began with an e-mail message written out of frustration by a rescuer and animal advocate who was tired of hearing the same horror stories about killing practices in some shelters and dog pounds. Numerous people from every background in rescue efforts and advocacy (”animal rights” and “animal welfare”) responded and added their expertise and recommendations.

Despite the irony of the campaign name, it does not place a seal of approval on killing! From the start, nobody involved in this campaign approved of killing animals as a “solution” for America’s surplus pet problem. We despise the killing and the reality is that despite all our individual efforts and those of national and international organizations, nobody has yet been able to accomplish more than reducing the number of companion animals killed. The horrible killing practices continue and will likely continue into the foreseeable future. We are all hopeful that our other efforts will someday change that situation. We hope the campaign will call attention to all the other factors that have led to the mass killing. It is already too late for the millions of companion animals who have died terrible deaths.

This is a grassroots campaign — “your” campaign. Whether it lives or dies, whether companion animals die cruelly or compassionately, will depend on your involvement.

http://www.crean.com/kindness/

EMERGENCY in Summersville, WV.

Nicholas County Shelter is overflowing. They are located in Summersville, WV 45 minutes north of Beckley, 1 1/2 hours south of Morgantown off of I 79, Hour east of Charleston, WV.

The contact  person for the shelter is Angie: 304-872-7877 at Nicholas County Animal Shelter
nicholasanimalshelter@yahoo.com, VERY RESCUE FRIENDLY!!!!!

It’s horrible.  Three hundred  miners are layed off and the Community is Devastated!! They can’t afford to keep their pets. 
On Sept 16th 11 dogs + 8 pups  came into the shelter,as well as neglect case from a man who is now in final stages of cancer and is dying.

They are begging for help.

I will help coordinate trasnport for anyone wishing to adopt.
There is no pull fee for rescues that wish to assist in helping our pets. 
Note: there has been no parvo, kennel cough or anything at this shelter for a few months.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!

Shelter is going to try to set up a food bank and will gladly accept donations in order to help families keep their pets or delay animals going into the shelter. It will help buy time to find rescues for the animals at the very least.

To view pets in need of adoption please visit:

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/WV30.html

NOTE: 7 year old altered, housebroken, pure bred black lab boy Beethoven is a shelter fav as are Dobie and Errie…..and black white pit mix Cheeke!….

WILL ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS BE USED TO FUEL YOUR CAR???

Isn’t it enough that, in our society, animals are tortured daily ?? Tortured in the name of science,sports, research and food. Now researches are taking it a step further, using animals as bio fuel. It is estimated that by 2012 over 1/2 bilion gallons of bio fuel will be produced by ” animal by products. I wonder how many animals and how much suffering will go into a gallon of fuel!!?? I dare you to put a price on a gallon!!!

Years ago Exxons slogan was put a tiger in your tank, who will take the slogan ‘Put A Chicken in Your Tank”?  More importantly, where will this end? Will it end with Chickens?  Pigs? Cows? Unwanted shelter Pets?

Supply and demand is set to see biofuel feedstock prices climb dramatically if oil prices top the records seen in 2006. At $80 a barrel, the ethanol could bid $5 a bushel for corn, diverting the crops production away from food consumption to powering our vehicles. The same holds true for biodiesel with high oil prices resulting in high soy prices. But soy is hardly the only biodiesel feedstock as we’ve seen recently, and wholesaling for 60 percent of crude soy oil, tallow and rendered chicken fat could be the new game in town.

Estimates put total U.S. biodiesel production in excess of one billion gallons / 3.79 billion litres by 2012. And biodiesel produced from animal fat could account for as much as half of that. That’s a whole lot of chickens.

But that’s ok, because companies like Tyson Foods, which has recently announced that they will establish a renewable energy division, produces more than 2.3 billion pounds of chicken fat annually. Using current technology, this should be enough to produce around 300 million gallons / 1.14 billion litres of biodiesel. Taking advantage of this booming interest in biodiesel are groups like the Dutch company, BioKing, which is producing 25 farm-sized biodiesel manufacturing units a week from its factory in Gravenpolder, Holland, for sale throughout the European Union. BioKing plans to sell the same to North America.

I/We are issuing a DNR/DNA on Paula Davis from Saving Homeless Animals located in Honaker, VA. The reason for this DNR are as follows;

1. Small dogs being tethered outdoors in the dead of winter with only a plastic dog house for shelter
2. Adopting dogs out after recovering from parvo but not waiting until the 30 day waiting period was over, thus potentially infecting other dogs in the neighborhoods they were adopted too. Dogs recovering from parvo will shed the virus in their stool for 30 days.
3. I have an email from one of my foster home who adopted a dog from her funds where donated to this rescue for the dogs vetting but the only vetting it received was a rabies vaccination. It was only when the adopter got home that she received a phone call stating the dog had lupus and its teeth were bad ” but she needed to pay her electric bill”
4. A friend of mine who is also an ACO inquired about adopting a Shih Tzu a few months back only to be told the adoption fee was 300.00
5. at one point a dog had to be stolen back from an adopter as it was left without food/water a home check was never done prior to the adoption.
6. per her own email to me, male dogs are not allowed in the house because they spray.
7. Actively looking for a pair of Yorkies to breed to “supplement her income” as she is on disability. Which brings me to the next question if she is disable who is caring for these animals?
8. Russell county animal shelter will no longer adopt to this rescue due to failure to provide spay/neuter papers.This is per Krystal the Russell county animal shelter manager 276-889-8098 whom I personally spoke with this am at 1045 am.
9. Atleast one dog that we are aware of being adopted out without even being current on its rabies vaccination.

 Moreover,funds were generously donated  to this “rescue” for the express purpose to purchase kennels for the animals. Later she informed Tish, with Friends of St Francis rescue that they had been taken down and sold. This same rescue was also soliciting donations under the name of The Buchannan County Animal Project and their 501 c3 without their permission. Still another woman who adopted and was happy with the animal she adopted was  asked to return it without explaination, she did  not and instead contacted an atty. later it was learned  that a higher adoption fee had been offered by another adopter wanting the same animal.

 If you need further information or verification please feel free to contact me. Verification isues and 3 adopters. For verification Becky~ bhoadley@gmail.com Trish~ friends_of_stfrancis_rescue@yahoo.com Carol~ ooocarole@gmail.com Kystal~ Russell county animal shelter manager 276-889-8098

The following story was sent to me by a member of the Concerned Citizens Coalition in Montcalm county, Michigan (see story Michigan Deals With the Devil). The American Anti-Vivisetion Society  posted the following article detailing the fate of one of the Montcalm dogs, Cruella.

This is the face of the greed of R&R Research and the complicity of Montcalm County’s councilmembers. This is why we must continue to fight.

Victim of Pound Seizure:

Meet Cruella (E6993)

Every year, millions of animals in need of sanctuary enter animal shelters across the country. While many are lucky enough to find new homes, hundreds become victims of pound seizure, as they are purchased by class B dealers who then sell the animals at an enormous profit to research and education facilities, where they are used in invasive and oftentimes painful experimental procedures.

Such was the case with Cruella, a shepherd cross who was found in Carson City, Michigan, wearing a purple collar and chain, indicating that she was once someone’s companion animal. Considered a stray at the time, Cruella was housed in pen 20 at Montcalm County Animal Control until she was relinquished to R&R Research, a class B animal dealer, and became known simply as E6993. She remained at R&R for 6 months, likely spending most of her time alone, confined in a cage with limited human companionship.

Later, traveling well over 1,000 miles with 13 other dogs, E6993 was sold to the University of Florida, where veterinary students named her Cruella. While there, over a period of 7 months, she was sedated or anesetized 7 times, often for hours at a time, and used in medical training procedures, including endoscopy, abdominal surgery, and ultrasound exercises, by both veterinary students and veterinarians. Cruella also underwent surgery with the intention to spay her, but it was discovered, after her abdominal cavity was opened, that she was already spayed, further pointing to the fact that she was once someone’s pet. During her last month at the University, Cruella twice experienced a lack of appetite; however, reportedly, she would eat handfuls of canned food. Whether this was the result of kennel stress after months of isolation and exploitation or the physical toll of enduring multiple sedations and veterinary procedures is unknown, but it is certainly likely.

On July 23, 2008, 195 days after her arrival at the University of Florida and over a year after she was found in Michigan, Cruella was killed via lethal injection.

http://www.poocini.com/report/archives/1132

If you are against Montcalm County’s contract with a Class B dealer, tell the county commissioners how you feel! Send a letter! Please feel free to copy and paste the letter below, or put your own words in the comments box and hit “send”! When signing your letter, please include your name and address so they know where the letters are coming from.

To send a letter to Montcalm County’s Commissioners, go to:

http://www.cccmontcalm.org/

RECEIVED IN OUR EMAIL THIS AM(1/11/09)

My Rocky went missing early on Saturday morning near the East Falls
Church metro station and is still trying to find his way home.
He
has been seen in and around the East Falls Church area several
times, so dog behaviour experts believe he is circling that area
trying to find his way back home to Arlington, VA.
He is not very
familiar with the area he is in so he is very frightened and has
been moving fast.
For those that know me, I probably don’t need to
tell you that I haven’t been able to eat, sleep, or do much of
anything but try and find him since he went missing.
And the thought
of the little guy running all around scared and looking for home
breaks my heart more every second.

If you have seen Rocky please contact savingfurryfriends@yahoo.com for Rockys owner’s contact info Thank you

A Call For An End to Pound Seizure Laws

Pound seizure is the sale or release of cats and dogs from a pound or shelter to a research, testing or educational facility.
Pound seizure laws typically require shelters or pounds to release animals to testing, research or educational facilities on demand.
These laws were first passed in the 1940s. Most of these laws were promoted by the National Society for Medical Research, which eventually evolved into the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR). Under these laws animals that are not claimed by an owner within a period of days must be turned over to facilities that use animals for testing, research or education. These animals who at one time lived in a home are now locked in cages and tortured in the name of medical science or education. Animals subjected to tests or experiments suffer terribly and die agonizing deaths.
Thirteen states have banned pound seizure: Connecticut, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 22-332a; Delaware, 3 Del. C. § 8001; Hawaii, HRS § 143-18; Maine, 17 M.R.S. §1025; Maryland, Md. Ann. Code art. 27, § 67B; Massachusetts, Mass. Ann. Laws ch. 140, § 151, 174D; New Hampshire, RSA 437:22; New Jersey, N.J. Stat. § 4:19-15.16; New York, NY CLS Agr & M § 374; Pennsylvania, 3 P.S. § 459-302; Rhode Island, R.I. Gen. Laws § 4-19-12; Vermont, 13 V.S.A. § 352; and West Virginia, W. Va. Code § 19-20-23.
New York, Maryland, and West Virginia prohibit release of cats and dogs to testing and research facilities while the other ten states ban the release of all animals to such places.
There is still no federal law, though, concerning pound seizures
Several states and Washington, D.C. continue to allow the release of animals to testing, research and educational facilities. Arizona, A.R.S. § 11-1013; California, Cal Civ Code § 1834.5-1834.7; Colorado, C.R.S. 35-42.5-101; Iowa, Code §145B.2-.6; Michigan, MCLS § 287.389 (Though Jackson County, Michigan has banned pound seizure.) Ohio, ORC Ann. 955.16; South Dakota, § 40-1-34, § 34-14-8; Tennessee, § 44-17-112, Virginia, §§ 3.1-796.96 96.1, 96.105; Wisconsin, § 174.13.
The remaining states leave the decision about whether to allow pound seizure to the counties and municipalities. And in the past selling animals to testing or research facilities has been a way for some local shelters or pounds to raise money.
There are 3 states that still have pound seizure laws: Minnesota, § 35.71, Utah § 26-26-3, and Oklahoma. 4 Okl. St. §§ 394, 501.

Please if your state is releasing animals to research labs or to “class B” dealers that sell animals to research labs, write your legislators and get your laws changed.

Pound seizure is illegal in Denmark, England, the Netherlands, and Sweden.
In the United States, there is no federal law regarding pound seizure..

http://www. animallawcoalition. com/pound-seizure/article/47

Written by Lauran Allen with The Animal Law Coalition

MI Man Hangs and Beats Dog, but no felony charges filed!

Chance is on the mend at Wishbone Pet Rescue in Saugatuck.

DORR TOWNSHIP — After being strung up by his neck from a branch and beaten with a stick last week in a wooded area, Chance the dog is doing all right today.

But animal lovers are outraged — not just at the 22-year-old man accused in an incident police called “heinous,” but at Allegan County prosecutors for issuing a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge in the case instead of a four-year felony.

“I think it’s disgusting they are going to slap his hand and let him go,” said Lanie Mossey, president of Wishbone Pet Rescue in Saugatuck, the agency that took in the black Labrador retriever after Allegan County sheriff’s deputies confiscated the dog.

Prosecutor Fred Anderson has no plans to let the alleged abuser, Jason Allen Williams of Grandville, off without penalty.

But the case is not as clear-cut as critics suggest, particularly with Williams’ claim he was trying to euthanize the dog over a belief it had liver disease, Anderson said. He planned to hit the dog in the head.

Williams told police he was broke and did not have money for properly disposing of the dog, an animal he adopted from another person. He thought the dog was sick because it constantly was going to the bathroom in his roommate’s home.
“He did not make a good decision,” Anderson said. “He didn’t know what to do with (the dog).” Police responded Nov. 17 to near the Dorr Township home where Williams was staying with a friend after a neighbor reported hearing the dog whimpering, went to investigate and witnessed the dog hanging and a man hitting the animal. The man fled, but later was identified as Williams.

A warrant has been issued against him for animal cruelty or abandonment, carrying a possible 93-day jail sentence, and Williams was ordered to turn himself into court by Thanksgiving or deputies may come looking for him.

A message left for Williams at his parents’ home in Grandville was not returned.Since organizers at Wishbone began talking about Chance’s case last week, Anderson has been under heavy criticism. By Tuesday, he had received about eight e-mails and 10 phone calls questioning his decision — far more feedback than he has received on some murder cases.

Anderson stands by the call, and said proving a “willful, malicious” intent for the felony might be difficult.

The misdemeanor charge still allows a judge to issue up to $1,000 in fines, 200 hours of community service, reimbursement for veterinarian care, possible psychological evaluation and to order an abuser not to own animals. And because the suspect has no record, sentencing guidelines for a felony animal abuse charge would only permit a three-month jail sentence, he said.

Still, Mossey thinks prison would be appropriate. Wishbone has received hundreds of e-mails and calls about Chance, some looking to adopt the 3-year-old dog.”I am absolute passionate that something happen. This is just not acceptable behavior,” she said.

Chance, now in foster care, is on pain medication and steroids for his injuries. According to the Web site for Wishbone, he remains disoriented, possibly a sign of brain damage from the hanging, although his long-term prognosis is not known. The vet mentioned no sign of liver disease, Mossey said. “He is an amazing dog,” she said.

“You would think he would want to bite everyone, but he is very sweet.”

Allegan County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Larsen described the abuse as “heinous” and said police do not know how long the dog had been hanging from the branch.”It’s unexcusable, even if his excuses are valid to him,” he said of the suspect.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR BOTH CRIMINALS BELOW!

Dog Torturer: Jason Allen Williams

PROSECUTING ATTORNEY’S OFFICEFrederick Anderson, Allegan County Prosecuting Attorney
Allegan County Building
113 Chestnut Street
Allegan, MI 49010 Phone: (269) 673-0280